Commissioner requests additional $25,000 for East Hamilton football field restrooms

Ashlie Henderson, vice president of East Hamilton School's fundraising body, and student Anna Kate Stewart speak to Hamilton County commissioners about the lack of permanent restrooms at the school's athletic complex.
Ashlie Henderson, vice president of East Hamilton School's fundraising body, and student Anna Kate Stewart speak to Hamilton County commissioners about the lack of permanent restrooms at the school's athletic complex.
photo Sabrena Smedley
photo Jim Coppinger

A long-awaited restroom and concessions facility may soon become a reality for the East Hamilton School's football field.

In November 2015, Hamilton County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley, who represents East Hamilton, said $94,000 in discretionary money already set aside would fall just $6,000 shy of the project's estimated $100,000 price tag. Before the project could break ground, the price increased and the school needed another $25,000.

On Wednesday, Smedley called on her colleagues to support a plan to put the restroom back on track with a boost in county capital bond funds.

"As you all know, contractors are very busy right now and prices have gone up," Smedley said. "I would really like to see this project through."

Smedley proposes to swap $25,000 of her district's allocation of discretionary general fund money to tap the county's $55 million line of credit to issue a capital bond for the proposed restrooms.

Because of a state attorney general opinion issued last year, discretionary general funds cannot be used to pay for school needs; only capital bonds may be used.

"It's supposed to be the pride of the community and it's got porta-potties all over the campus," Smedley said. "It's beyond ridiculous and it's absurd."

Ashlie Henderson, vice president of Cane-Raisers, East Hamilton's fundraising organization, said the group would allocate $2,000 to the restroom project.

"Funds for like $2,000 is a drop in the bucket for projects like concession stands and parking lots and things like that," Henderson said. "As parents, we do not have enough blood, sweat and tears to raise money for these kinds of projects."

That money would make differences in meeting classroom needs such as technology and band uniforms, she said.

"Those are the things that we hope our money can go to, but ever since 2008 [before the school opened], almost 100 percent of our Cane-Raisers funds have gone to infrastructure," Henderson said.

County Mayor Jim Coppinger said he intends to ask the commission to fund school fields and associated needs whenever the body considers funding the construction of schools in the future.

Coppinger also praised Smedley for how she worked out the finances for the project.

"This is kind of the way it should be done, and I applaud you for doing that ," Coppinger said.

While Coppinger did not elaborate on the use of the county's line of credit, Commission Chairman Chester Bankston recently requested $2,467 of county capital bonds to help pay for a $3,400 athletic field striper for Ooltewah High School. Bankston did not offer to exchange any of his district's discretionary money to tap the county's $55 million credit line. Bankston's request passed in a 5-3 vote.

The Hamilton County Commission votes on Smedley's request on Oct. 5.

Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @pleach_tfp.

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